A Really Snowy Saturday
We have lived in DC for 10 years. And 90% of the time when Bob Ryan or Sue Palka has said that there is going to be a snow storm we wake up to rain, or even sunshine....and whooops! That front took a turn in the evening and just bypassed DC! So, when we heard of an impending snow storm for DC, we were skeptical.
But...there was a little less skepticism because when we went to bed it had already started to snow.
And the forecast wasn't for a dusting, but rather 10-18 inches of snow.
So, we woke up this morning to maybe 8 inches of snow!
The forecaster is likening it to "historic snowfalls" in 1983 (when 16 inches of snow fell!).
Because we were skeptics we did not rush to the grocery store and stock up. Probably the only thing we are missing is Half and Half (remember that post about the bowl of Cheerios?? Yup, used up the Half and Half on Cheerios this week). So, we had to venture out this morning for coffee. We decided to document it along the way.
(Mark had to clear the car first. Soba and I watched from inside while we monitored the heat and the defrosting mechanisms.)
(This is the view on North Capitol. Our house is to the right. Remember, this is a Snow Emergency Route...the salt trucks and plows haven't been able to keep up with the quick pace of the snowfall.)
(This is what our backyard looked like when we got home from coffee!)
(Boy was the coffee delicious!)
It's now 4:30 pm and it's STILL snowing. It has not stopped since we got up today. I would guess we're nearing 15 inches of snow if not more! It's pretty amazing! We would not be able to get out of our driveway without digging out and even then, would probably have to dig our way out of the alley as well.
The federal government closed this morning.
Metro buses quit running at 1 pm and any subway trains that are not covered (inside) stopped running at 1 pm as well.
What have we been doing?
Well, I must say that I have been lamenting that this is my first day of winter break and our sensational snowfall did NOT help me get out of a day of school. My mom says I'm being "Bitter Betty." I'm just being a teacher. I feel that it should've at least been during the school year to elicit an honest-to-goodness snow day!
But, besides that we've been keeping busy by purging. Yes, purging. I have been cleaning my office/second bedroom and Mark and I also worked on the basement. We have gotten ride of 4 boxes of goodies (for Salvation Army) and about 6 LARGE (leaf bag large) bags of trash from the basement.
One of our projects was to unearth the space beneath our basement stairs. This is where the majority of the trash in those trash bags came from.
Two things I found that I wanted to document before tossing:
1) My helmet from my bike trip across the country. I used it until this summer, but while in Oklahoma bought a new helmet since the padding in this one was almost gone. This helmet served me well and kept me safe for more than 4,000 miles in the last 10+ years. I'll miss you green helmet! (Notice the stickers from bike stores I stopped at across the country: Great Basin, NV, Salt Lake City, UT, and Ft. Collins, CO!)
2) My paint palette from high school. In high school I took water color lessons. I loved them. I think I loved my palette the best because of all of the colors of paints. I have kept it for more than 15 years, actually closer to 20, but upon closer inspection I realized that the paints are too dried up and crusty to be used--should I spontaneously decide to take up water color painting again. I decided to bid it farewell, but not before I took a few pictures of it. Farewell watercolor paint palette!
After finding all of that space though we were able to rearrange the zillion boxes in our basement and unearth (drum roll please....) THE FLOOR (which I did not take picture of yet--watch the posts to come)! Very exciting!
We both took a break from our cleaning. I chose to write this post and Mark decided to go shovel our sidewalk---he loves the snow and is so excited to play in it!
And how's Soba in all of this? Well, if it snows much longer we're going to have to tie a line to him when we send him out in case he sinks in the snow and can't get out!
But...there was a little less skepticism because when we went to bed it had already started to snow.
And the forecast wasn't for a dusting, but rather 10-18 inches of snow.
So, we woke up this morning to maybe 8 inches of snow!
The forecaster is likening it to "historic snowfalls" in 1983 (when 16 inches of snow fell!).
Because we were skeptics we did not rush to the grocery store and stock up. Probably the only thing we are missing is Half and Half (remember that post about the bowl of Cheerios?? Yup, used up the Half and Half on Cheerios this week). So, we had to venture out this morning for coffee. We decided to document it along the way.
(Mark had to clear the car first. Soba and I watched from inside while we monitored the heat and the defrosting mechanisms.)
(This is the view on North Capitol. Our house is to the right. Remember, this is a Snow Emergency Route...the salt trucks and plows haven't been able to keep up with the quick pace of the snowfall.)
(Heading down Rhode Island Avenue.)
(On Florida Avenue, about a half mile from home and from coffee!)
(Mark and Soba waited in the car while I ran in to get coffee. There was so much snow on the side streets that we couldn't parallel park without worrying that we would get stuck! It was just easier for Mark to park illegally and stay in the car while I ran in.)
(This is what our backyard looked like when we got home from coffee!)
(Boy was the coffee delicious!)It's now 4:30 pm and it's STILL snowing. It has not stopped since we got up today. I would guess we're nearing 15 inches of snow if not more! It's pretty amazing! We would not be able to get out of our driveway without digging out and even then, would probably have to dig our way out of the alley as well.
The federal government closed this morning.
Metro buses quit running at 1 pm and any subway trains that are not covered (inside) stopped running at 1 pm as well.
What have we been doing?
Well, I must say that I have been lamenting that this is my first day of winter break and our sensational snowfall did NOT help me get out of a day of school. My mom says I'm being "Bitter Betty." I'm just being a teacher. I feel that it should've at least been during the school year to elicit an honest-to-goodness snow day!
But, besides that we've been keeping busy by purging. Yes, purging. I have been cleaning my office/second bedroom and Mark and I also worked on the basement. We have gotten ride of 4 boxes of goodies (for Salvation Army) and about 6 LARGE (leaf bag large) bags of trash from the basement.
One of our projects was to unearth the space beneath our basement stairs. This is where the majority of the trash in those trash bags came from.Two things I found that I wanted to document before tossing:
1) My helmet from my bike trip across the country. I used it until this summer, but while in Oklahoma bought a new helmet since the padding in this one was almost gone. This helmet served me well and kept me safe for more than 4,000 miles in the last 10+ years. I'll miss you green helmet! (Notice the stickers from bike stores I stopped at across the country: Great Basin, NV, Salt Lake City, UT, and Ft. Collins, CO!)
2) My paint palette from high school. In high school I took water color lessons. I loved them. I think I loved my palette the best because of all of the colors of paints. I have kept it for more than 15 years, actually closer to 20, but upon closer inspection I realized that the paints are too dried up and crusty to be used--should I spontaneously decide to take up water color painting again. I decided to bid it farewell, but not before I took a few pictures of it. Farewell watercolor paint palette!
After finding all of that space though we were able to rearrange the zillion boxes in our basement and unearth (drum roll please....) THE FLOOR (which I did not take picture of yet--watch the posts to come)! Very exciting!
We both took a break from our cleaning. I chose to write this post and Mark decided to go shovel our sidewalk---he loves the snow and is so excited to play in it!
And how's Soba in all of this? Well, if it snows much longer we're going to have to tie a line to him when we send him out in case he sinks in the snow and can't get out!
